Thanks to Trey Pennington for enlightening us on how to change our perspective, and capitalize on our opportunities. And a huge thank you to Enterprise Launch for getting Launch Greenville in motion and making it the success it is today!

LAUNCH Greenville 2010 is underway, and we are so excited to be here (like, really excited!). We have three enticing keynote speakers this morning and then a marketing, sales, and business owner panel this afternoon! The Marketing Pro. The Sales Guru. The Small Business Fanatic. Key Business Connections….We have a lot of stuff to cover. Stick with us, and you’ll be quite amazed at what we’ll show you (And don’t forget to check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and ….)

2009 was tough, right? So how do we move from the struggle of the previous year to making a change in 2010? It’s about changing your perspective. The age of opportunity awaits us, and we have to be optimistic. When we learn that we are in control of our own destiny, then we can move to the next level.

In order to change our perspective, Trey offered these ideas:

1) Having a mentality of just letting things go. We have to natural tendency to build fences around and guard our assets rather than letting them go. Why not let your gurad down, take risks?

2) Maximizing Sales—Purposely giving things away. The purpose of business is to maximize shareholder wealth, not just making money.

3) Pursuing your passion—Be bold to start something, even if you don’t know the end. There’s wisdom in planning, but it restrains us from taking that first step.

4) Listen, and take the message in— What about listening, instead of getting your message out there? It’s transformative, and it could change the way you do business.

Barriers to changing your perspective: FEAR of the unknown—You have to be willing to make a choice that you’re ok with uncertainty, and that you’re ok with being totally responsible for the outcome. Pursue your passion, put yourself out there, and ignite those passions towards the goal.

Eight Be attitudes to seize these opportunities:
1. Be alert
2. Be quiet
3. Be available
4. Be responsive
5. Be visible
6. Be generous
7. Be helpful
8. Be quiet (humility).

At the end of the day, what’s that point? It’s about creating value for other people. We need to create value for our customer, and not worry about making a buck today. The joy we can obtain from creating joy for other people is endless. Choose to act.

(Yeah, we said GIVEAWAY!)

Business Black Box is giving away FOUR free tickets to this weekend’s Launch Greenville event, at the Carolina First Center!!!

If you don’t know about the event, visit www.launchgreenville.com.(But you’re also in trouble, because it means you haven’t been reading your emails!)

Here’s how you can win:
1. Send us an email at jordana@insideblackbox.com.

2. Put CONTEST in the subject line. (This is important! You don’t want to get overlooked!)

3.Then, give us one reason why you need to go to Launch Greenville. Is it because you need a better sales process? Need to know about marketing yourself? Or you’re just a start-up or small business and need to figure out what you’re doing in the first place?

4.Include your Name, Company, Title, Phone number and Email address. This info MUST be present to win!!

Listen, now, this is important: Deadline is 8 a.m. TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 14. No exceptions! We’ll take the best responses and pick four to attend.

Yes, it’s that simple. So send us an email NOW to get a free ticket ($149 value!)

See you there!

Thanks to Jon Evans (@bigjonevans) and Glenn Bourquin (@DDMotors) for throwing this info out into the universe for us to soak up. And thanks to Greer Chamber for holding the Community Commerce Convention, and giving these two guys a place to launch the ideas from.

We are at the Greer Community Commerce Convention, and just finished our first session: Tweet Your Marketing with Social Networking. Jon Evans and Glenn Bourquin enlightened us on social media and how we should use it. So what is social media? Its building those connections and communicating through social networks and media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, Twitter, etc. Sharing conversation and content to build communities, engage your consumer, build credibility, educate, inform, and be found (yes, Googleable is a word!) Social media is biggest shift since the industrial revolution. Here’s what Jon had to say, and did he begin with some shocking statistics:

- Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months when it first began, currently has over 400 million.
- Wikipedia is more accurate than Britannica
- There are 200 million blogs online.
- 78 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations while only 14 percent of consumers trust advertisements.

So now that you know how important social media is, why should you use it?

1. Branding—branding yourself and your product to move ahead of your competitors. Creating a buzz about your product—finding a way to excite people about what you do.
2. Online reputation management—see what others are saying about you, and control what is said.
3. To establish yourself as an expert—use forums and blogs to establish yourself, get your name out there, and showcase your skills.
4. To build relationships, and become more personal—This one is a no brainer. Social media allows you build relationships and move forward with your business—and it’s cheap!

Things to avoid
Creating profiles everywhere!
—Pick 1 or 2 to actively be a part of and be consistent with it. People will give you one chance, and if its not intriguing, they’re done.

Selling to everyone immediately
—Your initial goal is to build relationships. Too much sales will turn people off. You don’t want to take it from a personal thing to a television commercial.

A few notes:
Define your target market, your objective, your capabilities, and your policy on who can edit, respond, and interact with your social media channels. Answer questions that are asked of you and turn negative posts and comments into something positive. Measure your results, and refine your strategy to create the most value for your customer.

Social media isn’t the magic bullet but it provides a world of opportunities. People go online for two reasons: to be entertained and to find information. TiVo and things like Pandora and satellite radio has eliminated commercials. Traditional advertising is more push push push; social media is push, and then pull in. Social media is there for you to captivate your consumer. Keep it relevant. Listen. Have a goal. Make it personal!

On July 22, Acres of Hope, a non-profit based in Liberia, posted a blog about Alvin, a 13 year-old overcoming spinal tuberculosis. Although he had been treated for the tuberculosis, his illness caused bedsores that began to destroy his body even further.

Water of Life, a non-profit based out of Upstate S.C. whose mission is to dig wells in Liberia, received word of Alvin from Acres of Hope and heeded their calls for help. Roland Bergeron, president of Water of Life, spread word to his constituents and left immediately to help in getting Alvin to the U.S., where an adoptive family waited for him, as did complete medical care.

What happened over the course of the next few weeks is anything but ordinary. The story of Alvin permeated the Upstate, taking a community by storm through social media, news outlets and personal involvement, causing a Ripple Effect that was felt from cities and countries far away.

You may notice that this strays from our editorial map quite a bit—it isn’t related (directly) to business, and it didn’t have a direct impact upon the Upstate business community. But as Business Black Box has chosen Water of Life as its charity of choice in 2009, and as we became involved on a very intimate level with Alvin and his story, we hope that you will see it as we intend it—a very cool look at how a community came together to help save one person, thousands of miles away.

Click here to see the timeline online »

Download a PDF »

In a challenging economy where wallets are tighter and people are traveling less, social media applications are a new means for artists to connect with the masses.  As an artist consultant and creative coach, I am advising my clients to spend some time plugged in each day to stay connected with an ever expanding online network. Social media applications can be used as an important marketing tool, but using them the right way can make the difference between wasting large chunks of your time, or actually growing your business.

-Block off some time.
It’s incredibly easy to spend all day on the computer playing, believe me! An important first step in taking charge of your technological advancement is blocking off some time each day to log on and connect, but don’t forget to log out or your creativity could tank.

-Get connected.
This may sound ridiculous, but there are actually artists who haven’t gone beyond sending emails online.  Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Etsy, StumbleUpon, Technorati, and blog sites open up a wealth of opportunity for targeted, immediate, personal connection with your mailing list, venues, buyers, friends, and family. There are more social media sites than I can list in this article. Explore some of these options and find two or three applications that work best for you.

-Brand yourself.
Your 1” profile image is your first impression. Whether you choose a picture of yourself or a piece of your work, make the most of it and let it say something about who you are.
What can your picture do for you?  Choose your screen name wisely, as well.  Now might be the time to launch a studio name, or to find a catchy screen name that defines you to run consistently throughout your online applications.

-Expand your network.
Your online network should expand way beyond your friends and family.  Artists have an entire online community at their fingertips: other artists, critics, gallery owners, journalists, media, venue owners, event planners, organization directors, retail shops and museum staff. Who is in your circle?

-Post it!
“What are you doing?”  As artists, our lives and craft are tightly tangled, but try to observe a 50/50 rule when posting to your networking sites. 50% business/arts related posts and 50% personal posts.  Your audience needs to connect with you on a personal level, but aside from family and friends, no one really cares that you are drinking coffee or that your mother just called. Think hard and post wisely. Let people know what’s going on in your local art scene, or turn people on to the inspiring musician you just discovered.   Most importantly, status updates are a great way to let people know where to find your work.  Posting a link to your online gallery, Etsy shop or Ebay store gives your network a direct link to your work.

Social Media shouldn’t be scary.  Reach out and connect with people. Expand your network globally and join the revolution that is transforming the way we do business.

Posted by Nichole Livengood, artist consultant and creative coach for Art To Profit. Find out more information at: http://www.arttoprofit.com